I know that it’s also hard to determine a band’s popularity based on their social media followers.

As we trade sales dollars for stream cents, I’m constantly reminded of what (head of Sub Pop A&R) Tony Kiewel once told me: “The future of the music industry is about adding up parts of pennies.” As we continue to phase out music ownership and embrace streaming, we have entered an era in which a band’s fan base can grow larger even as their sales decline. How do we determine whether or not a band is popular? I can tell you that we no longer determine that based on record sales. Is our band really popular, though? I’m not really sure.

It got to the point where I felt I couldn’t (or shouldn’t) work anymore, because the band was too popular. But what bothered me most was that I was often getting recognized while I was working, and it embarrassed me. It was unfair to continue to ask people to fill in for me as I trotted around the globe - even if it was something that sounded a lot more glamorous than it actually was. I was getting too busy to continue working, and I also felt a growing resentment from co-workers who had to take my shifts when I went on tour. At the time, I was doing all right financially, but that wasn’t the main reason I left. It wasn’t until 2007 that I quit, and even then I didn’t really quit I just asked to be removed from the schedule. Throughout those years, I kept my day job at Stumptown Coffee Roasters in Portland, Oregon, sometimes working an early morning shift the day after I got home late from a long tour. The band signed to Sub Pop in the fall of 2002 and over the next five years released three records and toured at least six months out of every year. I’ve played in a band called the Thermals for the past fourteen years. If you work as hard on your art as you do at your job, you may one day be lucky enough to quit the latter. If you’re really interested in “making it,” you can’t go home again - and you shouldn’t. You should get up every morning at five-thirty to serve mochas and lattes or stay up every night until three-thirty serving beer and whiskey. Mine wouldn’t let me, and I didn’t want to. You can also move back in with your parents - if they’ll let you. Sure, you can quit your day job whenever you want.

People like to tell artists, “Don’t quit your day job,” as if most even have a choice.

Find love or die trying sexy